Coligny Beach at Hilton Head Island - Later Ever After, BlogLater Ever After – A Chicago Based Life, Style and Fashion Blog

When I plan a vacation I literally do days of research before booking the actual vacation. While I use sites like Tripadvisor and look for travel reviews I also search for blog posts to see a real life look at a vacation spot. The most useful information comes from people who have already gone and share their honest feedback. If you are headed to Hilton Island, especially Coligny Beach this post is for you.

Coligny Beach on Hilton Head Island

We recently went to Savannah, Georgia on vacation (you can view my full travel guide here) and took a day trip to Hilton Head Island. It’s about an hour away and a great way to spend the day. We planned a full day to hit the beach and play, but we came a bit unprepared: no food, no beach toys and no planned rental chairs. So many lessons learned and I’m going to share them with you!

When To Arrive at Coligny Beach

We were not prepared for the thousands of people at the beach when we arrived. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but the beach was packed! I would get there prior to noon to claim your spot and enjoy the sun. We arrived around 1pm and literally picked up the last rental chair on the beach.

Chair Rental at Coligny Beach

If you are going to rent chairs at the beach, call ahead a time and reserve them. This will ensure that you have chairs and an umbrella when you arrive at the beach. It also means that you can arrive at any time, see my point above. The main chair rental at Coligny Beach is Shore Beach Service.

Beach Toys

I purposely didn’t pack beach toys because they take up too much room and I thought there would be tons of stands with beach toys at the beach. I was dead wrong. We spent about 45 minutes searching for beach toys. Save yourself a ton of time and head to the Piggly Wiggly at Coligny Plaza to pick up your beach toys.

Food and Drink at Coligny Beach

There are several dining options at Coligny Plaza. You can either eat at the Plaza or take it with you to the beach. I recommend eating at the Plaza, the beach is a good walk from there and carrying hot food (along with your other gear) is a lot. If you want beach snacks head to the Piggly Wiggly. There are no places on the beach to get food so you will want to bring food with you.

Bathrooms and Showers at Coligny Beach

My biggest stress planning this trip was where to go to the bathroom and change out of bathing suits. I literally planned how to do this in the car with multiple bags of clothes, sheets and towels. To my surprise Coligny Beach has a very nice public bathroom, changing rooms and showers. It is shocking! If you head there you will feel comfortable knowing that you can clean up after the beach.